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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

What's in the box? Plus a kale frittata.

For the first time since we started our CSA in January, I went to pick up the box by myself tonight! It went pretty smoothly, with only a couple of dicey moments. First, I didn't know if the boxes on the left were different (smaller? bigger?) than the boxes on the right (I don't think they were). Next, I couldn't figure out how to open the box - it's a complicated contraption. Our CSA box pickup is in the backyard of a house in East Sac - it's somewhat surreal to go pick up produce from the backyard of someone whom you do not know and have never met. But it's also delicious!

Spring onions on top - notice they aren't the skinny little wimps that you would normally find labeled as "spring onions." I use these in place of regular yellow onions in recipes, using mostly the bulb (the green part isn't very tender). And sugar snap peas on the bottom. These were great in stir-fry the last time we had them.

Strawberries and asparagus - wonderful spring offerings.

And tonight we had a kale frittata. Here's the kale, dino variety:

And the frittata:

I used the kale frittata recipe that I wrote about in a prior post, but I swapped feta in for the cheddar and used the green onions from my box. I also omitted the potato. This was super delicious - the kale got a bit crunchy on top under the broiler. I think it was reminiscent of the "kale chips" recipe that I've seen floating around the blogosphere. I ate my frittata with a piece of toast, slathered in sweet and sour lemon curd. A tasty treat for a Wednesday evening!

Mini knee update: I ran on Sunday for the first time after my two-week running hiatus. I wore a brand new knee sleeve and took it slow. Verdict? I hobbled home after about two miles, in pain that still persists (and now it's Wednesday). Nooooo! So then I made an appointment with a well-respected sports medicine doctor at the UC Davis sports medicine program. My self-diagnosis was correct: they are pretty sure I have runners knee, aka patellofemoral pain syndrome. There are a number of ways to attempt treating it, but the good news is that it will likely go away eventually on its own, even if untreated, and I will be able to continue running. I have a number of strengthening exercises to do for homework (my inner thigh/quad muscles aren't as strong as the outside muscles), and I am going to do them like a mad woman! If in six weeks it's not better, I have an appointment to go back in for x-rays. I'm a little disappointed that my recovery will likely take a while, but I'm relieved to be treating my injury early and with thoughtfulness. If I were in the middle of training for my next race, this could be devastating. The only thing now is that I will need to re-build my base once I regain my knee health (which wasn't that high to begin with) and watch my calories a little closer so I don't overeat while I'm exercising less.

A (semi-)broken knee is a pretty good excuse to spend some time on the couch ...

We're off to beautiful Clear Lake this weekend for Memorial Day with my dad and step-mom. Should be wonderful! Lots of food and wine and hanging out with the family - dogs included!